


you change all my negatives into positives

by moonbyulyi (orphan_account)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, coming to terms with sexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-14 01:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9149845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/moonbyulyi
Summary: In which Will and Nico are book worms and spend a lot of time together in the camp's library.Written for PJO Secret Santa 2016.





	

**Author's Note:**

> happy new year everyone! i hope we have a great one. i'm here again proving that i have to stick the song of achilles in literally everything that i write, sorry. english is not my first language, always remember that. any constructive criticism is welcome. <3

When Will stepped outside his cabin on the first day of winter, he did not expect it to be _that_ cold. Just as any other child of Apollo, he never liked to stay inside his cabin too much, and always preferred sunny mornings than the cloudy, dark ones that winter brought.

Sighing, he mentally prepared himself for the day. The camp was pretty much dead these days as most demigods left to spend the holidays with their families. Will himself was an annual camper, but this would be the first time he would spend Christmas with his mother after years. It was sad to think about that, but Will knew he was always needed at Camp Half-Blood for being head counselor and main healer and his mother was always busy with performances and interviews due to her singing career, so they never really got to spend a lot of mother-son time together.

Christmas also meant his mother's birthday was close and he wanted to surprise her with a gift he'd buy himself, with his own savings. It would not be much, but it would be enough - or so he hoped.

Before his shift at the infirmary started, he went to the shop that was being built at camp to see if he could find anything for his mother. When he entered the store, the son of Apollo was surprised to see how much the small place has improved since the last time he went there, because now there were special themed sections for each godly parent, which made shopping much easier.

Will knew exactly what to get when he saw it: a bracelet with two pendants, a small sun and a small guitar, representing his mother. He smiled, already knowing she would like it. It was just her style.

As he was handing out the cash for one daughter of Hermes who took care of the shop - which, in his opinion, was awfully suspicious - he spotted a library in the back. It was small and there weren't a lot of books yet, but just the sight of it made Will happy. He loved books and had quite a few back in his cabin. He rarely had to stay up for night shifts in the infirmary, but when he did, his books entertained him and kept him company.

Before leaving, he decided to take a look and see if there was any new good books he could read in his alone time. The fact that the library was empty surprised him and he decided to go, thinking it would be better if he came back later when the librarian would actually be there.

"Solace?" Will jumped when he heard a voice beside him, only to turn around and face Nico di Angelo.

"Nico?"

"Yeah, that's my name."

"Why would you do that? You scared the crap out of me!"

"It's not like I do it on purpose, it's just that people never seem to pay attention to my footsteps or something."

"Well, maybe you should try to be a little louder next time? Or maybe give me some sort of warning? I'd be really thankful for that."

He shrugged. "Whatever."

Will studied him. He was, as usual, in all black clothes: black combat boots, black jeans, black t-shirt and his aviator jacket. His black hair was stick in many different locks in his head, and his eyes seemed much darker in color and his stare much more peaceful since the last time Will saw him. His skin was also more tanned and his freckles stood out more, in some way.

"What are you doing here, may I ask?" Will asked, following Nico around the place.

"I work here."

"You... work here."

"Yeah, I mean... I didn't have much to do after the war was over, so Chiron just gave me this job."

"And you like it? Working here, I mean."

"I do, it's great to occupy my mind. Besides, I get to read a lot of books everyday, so there's that."

"I had no idea you liked to read." Will said, scratching his head.

"Well, you don't really know me, so..."

"I tried to," Will whispered to himself "but you just kind of ran away before I even had a chance to start, so..."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, forget about it."

"Okay then." He turned away from Will as if he wasn't there - again - and sat down on his chair.

"You even have a special chair for yourself, nice."

"Librarian privileges. So, what are you doing here today?"

"I also like to read, just like you, and came here to find a new book for me." Will explained. "I was hoping you could tell me where can I find the adventure genre."

"It's the fourth shelf behind you." Nico said, not looking up from the book he had chosen.

"Thanks... I guess." Will walked to the shelf and read the titles of the books, one by one. Sadly, there weren't many books that he had not read.

"Found something you like?" Nico's voice startled him again.

"Don't do that! Are you trying to kill me?" He sighed.

"You're just too sensitive! For gods' sake..."

Both boys were silent as they analyzed what was in front of them. Nico seemed very foccused now on the books and Will couldn't help but stare at him. The truth is that the son of Hades caught his attention since the first time he saw him, and at the same time that Will was surprised to see him here, he couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat everytime Nico did something. Anything.

How come those things only happened to Will?

"Have you read this one?" Will asked as he spot his favourite on the shelf: The Song of Achilles.

"No. What is it about?"

"It's the story about how Patroclus and Achilles met and developed a relationship. Only that in the back of the book it says that they were friends, except they weren't, so..."

"I haven't." Nico said, cutting him. "Read it, I mean. But I know the story." He walked to the other shelf behind them, and Will cursed himself mentally.

"Well, it's pretty good." Will tried. "You should give it a shot."

"No, thanks." He said abruptly.

"Ok. Sorry."

The silence was starting to get awkward when Will decided to speak up again.

"You... have something against it?"

"Against what?" Nico seemed confused.

"Ah, you know... the story. The book. The situation." Now Will was facing his back.

"No. I don't know."

"You... don't know..."

"I just don't care about it, I guess. Not anymore." Nico walked to the main room, leaving him there.

The way he said it left Will even more confused than before. He didn't want to ask any more questions and make the boy uncomfortable, but his senses around Nico tingled ever since he spent three days at the infirmary after the war against Gaea. The way Nico looked - or used to look - at Percy Jackson made it very obvious that the son of Hades had had a crush on him, which made Will very nervous around Nico.

"Then you're fine with me, I think." Will said.

"Wait, you're..."

"...gay? Yeah."

"Oh." Nico stared at him for a few seconds and went back on entertaining himself with his book.

"Okay..." Will looked around, trying not to make in even weirder somehow. "I guess I'll go now and come back tomorrow, or whenever there are more books."

"We have new books coming in tomorrow." Nico said without looking up from the book he was supposedly reading, even though his eyes weren't following the words.

"Ah, that's good. That's great. So I'll just go now... see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Bye."

Again: how come those things _only happened to Will?_

* * *

On the other day, Will made his way back at the library Nico worked, same time as yesterday. The son of Hades didn't seem uneasy around him anymore like he did in their last conversation, but he was still cautious with his words and attitude, as if he was restraining himself from something.

After Christmas, it became a habit to Will to visit Nico everyday before his shift started, and he noticed some changes in the boy's behavior. He seemed to laugh more and look directly at Will more, which didn't go easy on Will's heart, but he was happy that they were becoming closer friends.

* * *

Weeks passed, and then months, when Nico brought it up again.

"You know, I read that book you recommended some time ago."

"Which one? There were tons I told you to read." Will said

"The first one. The one that told the story between Patroclus and Achilles, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, The Song of Achilles, it's my favourite book. So, did you like it?"

Nico smiled, and Will felt like there were butterflies in his stomach. "I did. I didn't think I would, but I really did. Although Achilles seemed a little bit more friendly in the book than in real life."

"Wait... you actually _met_ Achilles?"

"Yeah, a few years ago, when Percy and I-" He stopped himself, unsure. "It was before the battle of Manhattan, when he swam in the Styx and everything."

"Wait... you made Percy _swim in the Styx_? So it was you who made him invincible!"

"I had to do something to save the world, otherwise no one was gonna do it!"

"When are you taking me to swim in the Styx, huh?"

"I'm not, it's too dangerous."

"Nico, I was joking."

"Shut up, Will, you're making my head spin!" Then they both laughed.

"Spin in a good way, I hope."

_Damn, Will, shut the fuck up! This was a really bad one! What is wrong with you?_

Nico was looking at him, not laughing anymore. "I-"

"Nico, listen, I'm sorry. Forget I even said anything, okay? I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything. Gods, I'm such a piece of..."

"It's... it is. I-I mean, in a good way. I... I've been trying to tell you for some time now. I'm not just okay with the fact that you like boys... I like it. Um, a lot." He was fumbling with a hole in his shirt now, not staring directly at Will.

"You... you like it?"

"Yeah, I think." He breathed out and tried again. "Yeah, definitely."

Will smiled when Nico laid his eyes on him again. He had never looked so beautiful. "I guess we should celebrate your 'definitely', don't you think?"

Nico smiled. "I think I'm going to take you to swim in the Styx now. Or on a regular date, your choice."

Will had never been happier.


End file.
